Harry Potter and the Half Blood Duel
by JoaKo
Summary: Wont be continued for the time being. Harry tries to cope with Dumbledore's death, his break up with Ginny, Ron and Hermione, the search for Horcruxes and the fulfillment of the Prophecy all in the same time. Post HBP, ReadRev
1. The New Godfather

**_Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Duel_**

--- Chapter One ---

**The New Godfather**

Harry Potter had been up very early that day. His cousin Dudley couldn't sleep the night before so he woke up Harry just to bother him. Harry tried to sleep again, but he couldn't, so he tried to read some of the sixth year's textbooks, as Hermione and Ron, who were closer friends as time passed, always did. Harry remembered them and smiled, he could sense that they would be dating in no time. He was especially happy for Ron, who aimed at Hermione since fourth year, when she went out with Viktor Krum, the famous Quidditch player. They wanted to be with Harry in the holidays and in the following adventures in relation with Lord Voldemort, but Harry finally convinced them not to come to the Dursley's because they couldn't bear anything related to Magic, Harry was enough trouble already.

Harry attended to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in which he would attend to the seventh and last year, but as the former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had been murdered, he didn't know if it would reopen. In any case, he wasn't too convinced to return, since he was tired of Voldemort murdering the people he loved, and he wanted to dedicate to duelling and Dark Magic, that would be vital to fight Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Harry spent two hours reading his books, but at seven o' clock he got up and went to the kitchen. He took an apple and went back to his bedroom. He looked outside of his window and was surprised to see Hedwig coming back so early, she usually went out for a week, but she returned after two days and, to his surprise, she had a broken leg and less feathers in the zone. Harry was worried so he decided to send Hedwig to Ron to see if Charlie could heal her.

While Harry wrote the letter telling Ron and Charlie what had had happened, he saw a very big red bird flying towards his window. Harry jumped to his bed and grabbed his wand, but he was both relieved and surprised when he saw that the creature was Fawkes, late Dumbledore's phoenix. 'Hello Fawkes,' Harry said. The phoenix went directly to Hedwig and dropped some tears on the owl's leg while it sang a melancholic tune, which reminded him of the phoenix's cry when Dumbledore was found dead. This memory saddened Harry. He always had been fond of his Headmaster, because he backed him up at every moment, helped him when he needed help and because he opened Hogwarts' doors when he was ten and was very mistreated by Vernon, Petunia and Dudley.

Harry approached to Fawkes and saw that Hedwig was hooting happily now that she was cured. He saw that Fawkes had a package for him, so he opened it and saw one box, one book and a letter. Harry was about to read the letter when he heared an awful shriek coming from the door. Aunt Petunia was paralyzed with fear as she had seen Fawkes. Harry ignored her and when was about to read the letter, Vernon came to the room and looked furious.

'What is _that_ bloody creature doing in my house!' he shouted. 'Haven't I told you that I don't want any weird thing here!'

'The phoenix brought a letter to me Uncle Vernon,' Harry said, trying to avoid one more problem. 'It will go out when I finish with it'

'THEN HURRY UP!'

Both Vernon and Petunia stormed down to the kitchen, where Dudley was watching TV. Harry could realise that his relatives were treating him worse than ever since they were informed of Sirius' death. He wished that he could get out the house in little time, but it wasn't that easy. Now that Harry was quiet he grabbed the letter and read it;

Dear Harry,

I need to see you soon, so I will go to your Uncle's house tomorrow morning in order to pick you up and go to The Burrow (I am living in Ron's house taking care of Bill,who is getting better everyday and won't have any serious transformation in full moon.). I know that Dumbledore told you that you should stay in your house, but you will be much more better with us in The Burrow. I also must tell you that Dumbledore left five things to you; Fawkes, his Pensieve with all his memories, his own textbook on White and Dark Magic, his wand and Godric Gryffindor's sword. The Pensieve and the textbook are in the box, the other things are here in The Burrow. Ron is reading the letter and he wishes you a happy birthday (so do I and everyone in The Burrow).

Take care of yourself,

Remus

P.S; In the box you will find two cards, they are the invitation to Bill and Fleur's marriage and mine with Nymphadora.

P.S.2; Remember I am always here for you, whenever you want to talk with me about every subject I will listen.

P.S.3; Sirius had left you to Dumbledore's care, and Dumbledore left you to my care, so I am your new Godfather. I hope you will like it.

P.S.4: You are now seventeen, so you can do Magic outside school. Use your gift well.

Harry never had been so happy in his whole life.

Remus' letter made him realise that today was his birthday, his seventeenth birthday. He could now use Magic outside school and also could get his Apparition license, although he could already Apparate without any problem. Harry was very excited so he ran down to the kitchen to say to the Dursley's that he would be leaving the next day.

'Uncle Vernon?' Harry asked innocently. He knew his Uncle was paying attention to him because he made a noise with his mouth. 'Can I go to the Weasley's house for the rest of the holidays?'

'Yes boy,' he answered back aggresively. 'Get out as early as you can and take with you all your stupid, weird thing! And, by the way,' he added surprisingly calm. 'Have you thrown out that red thing?'

Harry was somehow unsure of what to answer. 'Er, it is a gift for me...' he said insecurely. 'And,' he added coldly. 'Fawkes isn't a thing, it is a phoenix.'

Vernon looked livid, as if he was about to kill Harry in any second. Harry wasn't scared and said, as he took out his wand. ' I am now seventeen and I am allowed to use Magic outside school, so you better not touch me.'

Aunt Petunia stumbled, Dudley rushed back upstairs and Vernon looked as if Hagrid had feinted to hit him. Harry was satisfied with this so he went back to his room. In his room he took out the invitations for the two marriages. Bill's and Fleur's was very simple, in fact it had been written by Mrs Weasley. It said;

_Mr. Harry Potter,_

_You had been invited to assist to Bill Weasley's and Fleur Delacour's wedding in The Burrow. The wedding will be celebrated on August 17th. Please send an owl to confirm your assistance._

_Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley._

_P.S: You had been chosen to be the groomsman of Bill Weasley._

Harry simply could not believe it. He had never gone to a wedding and he was asked to be the groomsman. He did not know what to do, but he decided to talk with Remus about that. Harry took out Remus' invitation, but it wasn't as he expected it. It had been handwritten by Lupin.

_Dear Harry,_

_It is my pleasure to announce you that you are invited to my wedding party, also celebrated in The Burrow the day after Bill's and Fleur's. The reason because I have sent you a letter instead of a card is that I want you to be my best man. I hope you will like it. _

_Remus Lupin._

Harry didn't know what to do in this case, it was too much, but he wanted to do his best. He decided to list the different things he would need for the wedding; new dress robes, etc. He spent twenty minutes in the list and then, when he didn't know what to do, decided to practice some spells. He took out Dumbledore's textbook and began to read it.

Harry opened the book and, in the first page, he found that the book had a message. The message was;

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope that you do not receive this great book, since it would mean that I am dead (I left it to you in my will). If you have received it, then please do not feel bad for me, remember what did Nicholas Flamel say, "Death is the next adventure." Anyway, while you read this book, remember about my duel with Lord Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic's Atrium. You will see that all the counter-curses and spells I casted are in here. It also has Dark Magic that Voldemort and his Death Eaters used. It is the only book that describes how to cast the Unforgivable Curses so please take very good care of it and **do not abuse of Dark Magic. **I know that it will be difficult, but remember that the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort are the ones that use this kind of Magic, killers use this Magic, and you are not a killer, you must counter-attack Dark Magic with White Magic, hatred with Love. Please remember that Love is the key to destroy Lord Voldemort, if you start to take revenge on the people who made so bad things to you, you will be as bad as they are and in the end you will be as a Death Eater or even as Tom Marvolo Riddle himself. And it is obvious to say that you should use the Killing Curse only on Voldemort._

_It will be a great help on your quest if you become an Animagus, you can ask Professor Mc Gonagall to teach you. You must remember that Love is the key on finishing Lord Voldemort, so you must not fear him attacking you by killing the ones you love, you should be even much closer to the ones you love than before.Remember to stick up to those who you love, especially your great friends Ron and Hermione._

_I am,yours most sincerily,_

_Albus Dumbledore._

Harry was completely astonished by Dumbledore's last message. He couldn't believe that someone could be so well prepared and so serene talking about his own death. _Death is the next adventure... _He had at last understood what it really means. Harry was also struck by the way Dumbledore had talked about Dark Magic, he now could see why did the former Headmaster never used it, he was completely different from the Death Eaters. He didn't bear any kind of hatred in his soul, only Love for the ones he loved. 'Probably this was what made him so special.' Harry thought. He also liked the idea of being an Animagus. He could follow his father's steps, or try to become a smaller animal, so that he could pass unnoticed in some places. He even thought of Hermione, Ron and him forming a group like his Dad, Sirius, Remus and Wormtail had formed. It would be a great idea, so he got up, looked for a piece of parchment and a quill and started to write a letter to Mc Gonagall.

_ Dear Professor Mc Gonagall,_

_I wanted to ask you, if you can spare some time, if you could teach Ron, Hermione and me to be Animagi. I thought that it could be of great use in our fight against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The idea has occured to Professor Dumbledore, who wrote a letter for me in the book he left to me._

_Hoping that you are well,_

_I am,yours sincerily,_

_Harry Potter._

Harry grabbed the parchment, went to where Fawkes was resting and asked him to send the note to his Professor. The phoenix dropped a single golden feather from its tail nad Harry attached the note to it. There was a flash of red flame and both the feather and the note disappeared.

Harry turned back and picked up his new book. Then he went down to the first floor, passed by the kitchen and Dudley hid behind his chair, and headed towards the garden. It was a great day, with a very clear sky and a bright sun. Harry went to a bench and opened his book. He passed by Dumbledore's message and reached to Part One, "The White Magic". The first chapter of the first part was named "Stunning Spells". The first spell was the most common Stunning spell, Stupefy. Suddenly Harry had an idea, he stopped reading and said 'Kreacher!'. The house elf appeared immediately, making a loud "crack" sound. Before he could know it, Uncle Vernon was shouting and running towards the garden. Harry's Uncle seemed paralyzed when he saw Kreacher. His only reaction was, 'Take... creature... out of... here.' But Harry ignored him and took out his wand. Vernon saw this and jumped over him, but Harry was quick enough to move out from the bench. Vernon fell over the bench, broke it and was hurt. He couldn't get up so Harry tried to, but his Uncle grabbed him by his sleeve and threw him to the floor.

When Harry lied in the floor, his Uncle got up and shouted 'I DON'T WANT FILTHY CREATURES IN MY HOUSE!' while he threw a punch to Harry, but he was stopped in mid-air, Harry turned round and saw Kreacher looking fixedly at Vernon, while he said.'You filthy Muggle! How do you dare to call old Kreacher a filthy creature! You will now see what do you deserve!'

Kreacher was about to hex Uncle Vernon when Harry bellowed, 'KREACHER STOP!' The house elf stopped at that instant, but started to mumble, insulting Harry because of being a Half-Blood. Harry took no offense, picked up his wand that had fallen to the floor, and mumbled 'Finite Incantatem' aiming at his Uncle. Vernon fell to the floor and was so terryfied that ran back to the house.

Harry turned back to Kreacher. 'Kreacher,' Harry said. 'get something for me to practice spells'

'Yes Master'

Kreacher Dissaparated and Harry was left alone in the garden, receiving all the warmth that the sun was giving out. Harry read all the chapter that talked about Stunning spells and then realised that he was starving. He went inside and saw that there were two sandwiches in a plate for him. Harry ate them in two minutes and then went to his bedroom. He lied down to rest for some time and, when he was about to doze off, a flash of red flame interrupted his attempt of napping. Harry saw the golden feather falling to the floor with McGonagall's reply attached. He picked up the note, whispered a quick 'Thanks' to Fawkes and proceeded to read the reply.

_Mr. Potter,_

_It will be a pleasure to help you and your firends in your quest of finishing off The He Who Must Not Be Named. I would prefer to start immediately, so I will pick you up at your Uncle's house today at five o'clock in the afternoon. I beg you to have your trunk ready by that time._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva Mc Gonagall_

Harry was happier than before, he couldn't believe that everything was happening too fast and too good also. It was three o'clock in the afternoon, in only two hours he would be going to the Burrow! He looked at his things and saw that his things were still unpacked. He was very lazy at that moment so he tried to pack everything without any order. After fifteen minutes, Harry was very impatient and took everything out of his trunk. Suddenly, Harry remembered how had Tonks packed his things two years ago, when Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones picked him up at the Dursey's.

'Oh damn...' Harry said to himself. 'What was the name? Pack! Yes it was pack!'

Harry grabbed his wand, pointed it to his trunk, then moved the wand like making a circle and mumbled '_Pack!'. _Every possesion he needed was carefully doubled and put into the trunk, that closed with a soft _click_. After that, Harry softly stroked Fawkes in his head. Fawkes sang a tune that made Harry joyful. Harry opened Hedwig's cage and let the snowy owl out.

'Fawkes, Hedwig,' Harry said. 'Go to The Burrow and stay with Errol and Pig, I'll be there in a while.' The owl looked at his new owner and took off to Ron's house. Fawkes screeched and flashed to The Burrow.

Harry went down to the living room and saw that nobody was there. He had remembered that he had to tell his family that he was finally going to Ron's house at five o'clock. He went to every room in the house, but nobody was in the house, so he wrote down in a paper that he was going to go to a friend's house for the rest of the holidays.

Harry looked at his watch and could see that it only was half past two, and didn't know what to do in the meantime. Harry went back to his room and tried to sleep, but when he was about to fall asleep, the doorbell rang. Harry was fuming and stormed down to the entrance. When he opened the door, he found Hermione standing at the doorstep with a broad smile.

Hermione ran at Harry and hugged him. 'Harry! How are you?' she asked.

'Hermione!' almost shouted Harry, who was very surprised by her visit. 'How do you do?'

'I'm great Harry, how are you?'

'I'm very well luckily. What are you doing here?'

'Professor Mc Gonagall owled me asking whether I could go to your house so that she could pick us up both in the same place... Did you know that she will be the new Headmistress of Hogwarts?' Harry's expression darkened as she talked about Hogwarts and specially about Dumbledore's sustitute. She realised this and immediately changed the subject. 'Do you know how's Ron doing?'

Harry smiled and said. 'Are you, by chance, thinking about dating with Ron?'

'Er... um... yes... How on earth did you know!' said Hermione shocked.

'It is really obvious Hermione... both of you are being very close since Ron kicked out his dear Lav-Lav.'

Hermione laughed and said. 'It's true... but do you think that I can stand any chance?'

'I'm sure you will, you only have to ask him out, because if you wait till he gathers the necessary guts, we will have to wait till next year!'

Hermione laughed and they started to talk about their holidays – Hermione had gone to Germany just to visit – and before they realised, it was five o'clock and the doorbell rang again. Harry got up and went to open the door. Minerva Mc Gonagall was standing on the doorstep and said, 'Hello Harry and Hermione, do you have your trunks ready?'

'Yes professor,' Harry answered, took his wand out and said, '_Accio trunks_'. Both Harry's and Hermione's were there. Mc Gonagall was satisfied so she said, ' Then please grab this branch – it is a Portkey – when I count three you will be transported to The Burrow. One... Two and Three!'

Harry felt as if he was jerked forwards and the next thing he knew was that he was standing in The Burrow's dining room and all the Order of the Phoenix and the Weasleys were standing, saluting both Hermione and him.


	2. Back in the Burrow

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Harry Potter, I only own this plot!

A/N: I'd like to thank Lady Kiara Skywalker for being my FIRST REVIEWER! Thank you sooo much!

--- Chapter Two ---

**Back in the Burrow**

'Hey guys!' Ron said when Harry and Hermione arrived. 'How are you?' He gave Harry a one-arm hug and hugged Hermione, though this hug lasted a bit more than usual. Hermione realised this and was beaming, but the hug ended forcefully when the ever cheerful twins remarked this.

'Hey you two-!' Fred said.

'you should get,' George added.

'A ROOM!' Both twins said roaring with laughter as Ron and Hermione blushed in a deep shade of red. Everyone in the house started to laugh, even Mrs Weasley, who, in spite of herself, let out a small giggle, and tried, ineffectively, to scold the twins, who were doubling themselves with laughter.

Harry looked around the room and immediately sobered up when he saw Ginny. She wasn't laughing as the rest of her family, and Harry had a strong feeling that he was responsible of that. Harry walked to the place where Mrs Weasley was standing and hugged her. This made Mrs Weasley cry with joy nad hugged him also. Harry greeted each one of the Weasleys, Ginny included although tension was palpable. Harry was very sad about this and followed Ron and Hermione upstairs. He suddenly was filled by sorrow, grief and sadness. Harry went to the twins' bedroom and broke down there. He managed to maintain his cry silent. Memories of Snape saying the killing curse flooded his mind, followed by memories of the funeral, Bill's new state and his break up with Ginny. People that were close to Harry died or were injured. Guilt invaded every inch of his soul. Harry was crying openly now, but nobody seemed to bother, to his own relief. Harry wanted to disappear of everybody's life, just for their own safety, but he wouldn't be allowed and the Order would be alerted instantly. He stopped crying and only some sobs came out of him. He lied down on his bed and the door opened, Ron came in.

'Hey Harry come to-,' he stopped right in his tracks and closed the door. 'What's up mate?'

'Oh nothing really, I'm fi-'

'You are _not_fine Harry,' Ron said while he sat beside him in the bed. 'Does my sister has anything to do with this?' he asked.

'Ye- No!' Ron gave him a strange look. 'Er, kind of, but it's mostly Dumbledore's' He choked a sob. 'death you know...'

'You should take it more easy you know... That greasy bastard will pay with his life, I'm sure that you will have your chance to take revenge on hi-'

'You don't understand Ron! He trusted him, he trusted him with his life. When the bastard entered in the room, Dumbledore expression changed, HE PLEADED! HE SAID "SEVERUS... PLEASE!"' Harry roared and imitated Dumbledore's tone.

Ron looked as if he had been hit with a well placed Stunning spell. He didn't say a single word, but reached out his hand and gave Harry a reassuring squeeze. Harry felt more relieved now that he could let out some of the things that were bothering him. He went to the bathroom and washed his face. He was about to come down to the kitchen when Ron told him,

'She'll come round eventually, you just give her some time'

'I hope so.'

Harry and Ron went to the kitchen to wait for dinner. There was nobody in that room. Harry found this suspicious and pulled his wand out his pocket. Suddenly, the door connecting the kitchen to the dining room bursted open and all the Weasleys plus Remus, Hermione, Mc Gonagall and Tonks entered singing "Happy Birthday". Harry was very moved by this greeting and, as he thanked everyone, the twins let out some of their brand new Fireworks from Weasley Wizard Wheezes. There was a pile of presents brought by Remus.

Ron and the twins pushed Harry to the pile and shouted 'Open them!' Harry pulled out the first present. It was from the twins. A huge box filled of products from the store was their present. He pulled out another gift, that was a wand holster from Tonks. Harry immediately pulled up his sleeve and put on her gift. Mr and Mrs Weasley gave him a new black cloak with emerald green borders. Charlie gave him a dragonhide armour, and dragonhide boots also. Harry thanked him and found this gift very useful, just like the wand holster. Remus' gift was a whole collection of Defense Against the Dark Arts written by Armando Dippet. Bill gave him a Foe Glass that he found in Egypt, Ron's gift was a Golden Snitch ('_Wow Ron! Thanks!'_). Harry passed on to Mc Gonagall's gift which was a book on Animagi. Hermione gave him a perch for Fawkes, Neville gave him a knife just like the one Sirius gave him on his fourth year's Christmas, Luna gave him a necklace of Butterbeer chaps and Hagrid gave him a book on how to take care of phoenixes and a bag full of owl and phoenix treats. The last, but definetely not the least, gift was Ginny's. It was a small, handmade necklace with a tiny emerald charmed to keep the owner hot if needed. It also had a Protean Charm, so that the one who wore the other could be called at any time.

Harry looked up, but Ginny was no where to be seen. His expression darkened and looked back down immediately. Mrs Weasley, Remus and Hermione realised this but none of them said anything.

Mrs Weasley took the cake out of the oven and placed it on the table. Everyone chanted "Happy Birthday" again and, when Harry blew the candles, he asked only for one wish, to come back to terms with Ginny again.

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'Harry, Harry!' Ron said. 'C'mon mate wake up! We have a Quidditch match to play!'

Harry bolted up and sat down on the edge of his bed, quickly looking for his Quidditch robes. Ron was laughing madly, and Harry suddenly realised, there is no Quidditch match during holidays, least of all so early in the morning.

'You bloody bastard!' Harry said, anger evident in his voice. 'D'you know hoy early it is?'

'Oh, about 8 in the morning I reckon.' Harry's groan made Ron laugh again so he added. 'Well, honestly Harry, you didn't expect me to get up and go down earlier than you, didn't you?'

For the first time in the day Harry looked at his watch. His expression changed completely.

'Oooh I can't believe that you dared to do this Weasley,' Harry said playfully. 'So you just wanted to have a good time and decided to interrupt my beloved sleep with the excuse that _you didn't expect me to get up and go down earlier than you, _when you _already_ went downstairs, and even tricked me with playing a Quidditch match at 8 o'clock in the morning, when it is really 11? They say that revenge is painful...'

'We'll see to that Potter!'

The two best friends came down laughing and had breakfast. Mrs Weasley hugged them both and told them that Hermione was outside studying and the others, except Bill and Fleur, were in the garden organising a Quidditch match. Ron smirked at Harry when his mother mentioned Quidditch and Harry just chuckled. They both went to their rooms to get their brooms. They went out to the garden and saw all the Weasley clan, except Percy, Bill and their parents, and Remus and Tonks were there also. They decided that the Seekers should choose their players. Charlie chose Ron first, Harry chose Fred, then Charlie chose George, Harry didn't know whether to pick a Chaser (Tonks or Ginny) or to pick a Keeper (Remus). Harry decided to pick the smallest redhead and Charlie picked Tonks, so Remus went to Harry's team. They decided that there wouldn't be Seekers, so Harry and Charlie passed on to be Chasers. Beaters also were allowed to use the Quaffle as Chasers also. They agreed also that they should set up a limit, first team to get to 200 points would win the match.

The match started and it quickly turned to be an action packed match, the Quaffle didn't stop for one second since everyone was playing superbly. Harry saw that he was a pretty good Chaser, 'Must be a family talent' he thought, remembering that his father's family had a knack for Quidditch. After twenty minutes of play the match was 50 – 30 for Charlie's team. Harry was doing a good job as an organiser, he made vital pinpoint passes and Ginny and him made a good team, but Fred clearly wasn't a Chaser, he made too many mistakes but, in the same time, he made the whole team laugh with well placed jokes. The one was suprising everyone was Remus. He made an excellent Keeper and, in Harry's opinion, he could give Ron a run for his money. When an hour of play passed by, the score was even at 120 each, with a superb display from the Keepers, who kept saving impossible shots, and a perfect match of Ginny, who was Harry's team star player. In Charlie's team, the three Chasers were playing well and they could keep up with Ginny's production. At this point, Harry asked for a Time Out so that they could have a drink. Harry landed and went to talk with Remus.

'Oi Godfather!' he shouted, 'How come you are that good as Keeper?'

'So you didn't have much faith in me, huh?' he laughed. 'I was the Gryffindor Keeper in my time, I always played with James and Sirius and we were pretty good.'

'I didn't know, I thought my Dad was the only Quidditch player...'

'Hey Remus, Harry,' Ron shouted. 'the match is about to resume!'

As they went back to the "pitch", Remus said. 'Note that Ron always looks fixedly at you when you are about to shoot, when he does that, just feint shooting to one hoop and pass the Quaffle to Ginny or Fred, Ron will be misplaced and we will score easily. When Ron gets used to this, you should do exactly the contrary, feint a pass and shoot. Then you should alternate. I used to do the same thing Ron does.' He chuckled and added, 'And Sirius took advantage of this during practice!' Harry laughed and prepared to play a "new match" against Ron.

They all climbed to their brooms and bolted upwards. The match resumed and it was as competitive and well played as before the time out. Five minutes later, after a combination of passes between Harry and Ginny, Harry did exactly as Remus told him and Fred scored. As Harry started to play better, the team started to distance from Charlie's. Tonks, Charlie and George had great teamwork, but Ginny's talent and Harry's new strategy were too much for them. Furthermore, for thier annoyance, Fred was getting better as time passed by and turned to be a great defender, he snatched the Quaffle from George as if he knew which would be his next move. Obviously George saw this as a challenge and they ended up both in the same broom, laughing and looking for the other broomsick. Remus wouldn't show any kind of mercy to Tonks and he stopped every shot she sent to his hoops. He used the Starfish move every time he could just to annoy her, so she decided to tease him a biy and morphed her appearance to look exactly as Snape.

They played for twenty minutes more, and the match ended 200 – 150 for Harry's team, with Ginny as the top scorer with 11 goals. Harry scored 5 and Fred four. As soon as the match finished, Mrs. Weasley announced that lunch was ready and they all went to the table, which was moved outside so that they would have more space. Ginny's performance was the main topic during lunch, but she wasn't very talkative. The food was as good as always, but Harry wasn't hungry, he felt as if he had a pit in his stomach. He looked at Ginny, but she wouldn't look back. He felt both bad and disconcerted. Remus noticed his mood and held him back when everyone went upstairs to change their robes.

'Harry, what's up?' he asked. 'You don't look very well...'

'I know,' Harry sighed. 'I think that can't cope with everything, this is too much.'

'Sometimes it is better if you talk with someone about this,' Lupin said softly. 'People say that bad things are better outside than inside, and I strongly back up that assumption. I also had very bad moments in my life but the diference is that I didn't have somebody to talk about it. I had to spend more than ten years to come to terms with it and I would have killed for having someone to talk.'

Harry was shocked, he didn't expect Remus to open up as he had just done but he didn't know what situation was he talking about. Anyways, he decided to try and talk about his situation, it was the best he could do.

'Er, Remus? Maybe we should talk...'

'Sure thing Harry, I am all ears.'

'I am feeling worse than after Sirius died ya know,' he said sadly. 'I loved Sirius a lot, more than Dumbledore obviously, but I feel worse, and if you add up Ginny...'

'I do understand Harry,' the werewolf said. 'It is too much, I wish I could help you, but every one grieves in their own way, and I can't show you how, since it depends on your relationship with the one who died. In my case, Dumbledore's death was a great shock and I'm very sad about it, since he was the one who gave me the chance to learn, to go to Hogwarts despite my "furry little problem" as James put it, but I, at the same time, had the opportunity of finaly accpeting Tonks, which helped me a lot.'

'I guess that my situation is diferent, Professor Dumbledore was a great person, he did hide the prophe-'

'I already know the full content of the prophecy Harry, Dumbledore told me its content when I was designated your new Godfather.'

'I'm glad,' Harry managed a small smile. 'I started to see Dumbledore as a grandfather or something of the sort since that same night he told me the prophecy, he understood me and encouraged me to do better in every task concerning Voldemort. But the most shocking thing he told me was some minutes before that greasy git killed him, when I was about to Apparate him back to Hogsmeade, I told him not to worry, and he said he wasn't because he was with me!' Harry was sobbing now. 'And less than one hour later he was killed!'

Neither Harry nor Remus said anything. Harry was looking fixedly at the floor and Remus was looking at him with a mixture of pity and sympathy and, all of a sudden, he hugged him fiercely. Harry returned the embrace with a smile and thanked him.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Weasley had been eavesdropping and couldn't stop some small sobs.

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Days at The Burrow passed by very fast between the preparations for the weddings, and the usual commotion in Ron's house. It was very difficult to get bored, since Fred and George pulled pranks on everyone at all times, the only one who had survived was Mrs. Weasley, since they didn't like to bear her temper.

Harry seemed better than the day he talked with Remus, he discovered that Fawkes could be a great companion, he would sing a tune to make him feel better, and he would appear next to him to help him out with anything.

Ginny was still hurt and she would talk the minnimum with him, but she wasn't avoiding him any longer. Harry liked this, he expected her to be a good friend when he broke up with her. He knew he had to talk with her as soon as possible, but he also dreaded that talk, he wasn't sure that he would be able to control himself and not hug her and kiss her right away.

Bill's wedding was only a week away and Mrs. Weasley decided to send the teenagers to Diagon Alley to buy new dress robes. Ron and Harry were waken up by Hermione, who had to use Levicorpus on the redhead. Harry shooed Hermione out of the room so that they could put on their clothes. Harry changed and grabbed his new wand holster and put it. He noticed that it was charmed to be invisible for other people and for being comfortable. Harry and Ron went downstairs and had breakfast. Mrs. Weasley was clearly nervous.

'Boys, please be ready in ten minutes time,' she said.

'Who will-' Ron tried to say but he was interrupted by his mother.

'Swallow before you talk Ronald!' she said glaring at him.

Ron rolled his eyes and, after he swallowed, he said. 'Who will be coming with us?'

'Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye and Kingsley will be your guards.' Mrs. Weasley said. 'Remember to spend as little time as possible out there, all of you take your wands with you and if there is the slightest problem, you come back. Each of you will have an emergency Portkey that will bring you back here.'

All the teens nodded and they waited for the guard to arrive. Meanwhile, Hermione was trying to talk sense to Ron, who said that his mother 'had gone bonkers'. Harry decided to stay out of the argument, and let them be. He summoned Fawkes and started stroking his feathers. The phoenix gave a low musical cry and snuggled next to Harry's arm. He turned and found Ginny looking fixedly at him and Harry couldn't stop the smile that formed in his face. Ginny blushed and looked out of the window. After some minutes, Harry stood up and went to his room to leave Fawkes, he didn't like to make him appear in there alone. As he went back down, he couldn't help thinking that Fawkes was another good friend, someone who would throw in the middle of a Killing Curse aimed at him, but would revive and provoke no grief.


	3. Dumbledore's Man Through and Through

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Harry Potter, I only own this plot!

A/N: Lady Kiara, thanks again! Harry-an-Ginny, I'm glad that you loved it! Thanks! Please Read & Review!

--- Chapter Three ---

**Dumbledore's man through and through**

Remus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody arrived some minutes later to The Burrow. They gave each of the teens Portkeys that would take them back to The Burrow if they held them for more than three seconds. Mr Weasley conjured a Portkey to take everyone to the twins' shop. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the guard touched the Portkey and went to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Fred and George were waiting for them with a big smile on their faces. They showed Harry their new inventions but they stopped at one item.

'Hey mate,' Fred said. 'Take a look at this!'

'Too good are these.' George continued.

'Weasleys' Stunning Powder-'

'We got the idea from a Muggle movie, were they threw some weird balls-'

'And people fell to the floor dead!'

'Impressive,' Harry said. 'I suppose you will be selling them to the public don't ya?'

'I dunno,' George said. 'These things could be great against Death Eaters, I'll show them to Moody later.'

'That's loads better mate,' Harry agreed. 'I wouldn't like to suffer the effects of these things, I think they could be vital in a fight.'

The twins showed Harry the new merchandise until Mad-Eye called Harry and the others. They all went outside and headed towards Madam Malkin's shop. Tonks and Kingsley went with the girls and Mad-Eye and Remus went with the boys. Harry already had the robes Mr and Mrs Weasley had given him for his birthday so he tried to help Ron with his robes. As always, Ron tried to get orange robes, because of their similarity to the Chudley Cannons, but Harry and Remus hopefully could break through Ron's stubborness and convinced him of buying dark blue robes that didn't clash with his hair. Harry and Ron were finished in no time, but the girls weren't.

'Oh bloody hell,' Ron said bitterly. 'We will have to wait ages till Hermione and Ginny decide that they are ready.'

Harry chuckled but knew his best mate was right. They paid for Ron's robes and waited till the girls came out of the "Girls part of the shop".

'Oh come on! They can't be _that _slow,' Ron said, growing more annoyed as minutes passed by. 'We could be visiting the Quidditch Supply Store right now.'

'Great idea!' Harry agreed. He turned to Remus. 'Can we go for a bit?'

'Um, I don't know, let me check with Ton-'

'Yes we go,' Mad-Eye growled. 'I must admit that Weasley is right, they spend too much bloody time in there.'

Ron beamed while Remus went to tell Tonks about their visit to the Quidditch Store. While they walked towards the store, Harry was disappointed to see that Diagon Alley was deserted. The few people who were outside were moving quickly and seemed terrified. Harry, Ron and Remus entered the store and Mad-Eye stopped in the doorway, his electric blue eye spinning in all directions, checking for Death Eater activity.

The teens were instantly charmed with the newest version of the Firebolt, the "X-treme Firebolt". A sign posted above the broom said that it reached 260 km/h in only ten seconds. The price was outrageous; twenty thousand galleons. Remus was too interested in a pair of Keeper's gloves, but he couldn't afford them.

'Oi Ron, come here this might be interesting...' Remus called and showed him the gloves.

'Nice gloves!' Ron praised. 'But I wont be playing Quidditch...'

'Why not?' Remus asked suspiciously.

'Er, we d-don't plan on re-returning t-to H-Hogwarts.' Ron stammered.

Harry had been hearing the whole conversation and a pang of guilt invaded him; Ron wasn't returning to Hogwarts because of him, and now Ron would be in real trouble. Remus' face was very stern as he pushed them out of the store. Mad-Eye looked amused.

'What makes you think that you wont be returning to school?'

'It was my idea Remus,' Harry said. 'But we wont be discussing this out here, when we are back at The Burrow we'll talk.'

Ron cringed as he imagined his mother's reaction at the situation that was arousing. When Harry thought that the worst had already passed, Hermione, Ginny and the rest of the guard reunited them.

'What's up guys?' Tonks asked. 'Why the long faces?'

'Not now Tonks,' Mad-Eye barked. 'Everyone hold to your Portkeys, we are going back to The Burrow.'

'Harry and I will go to the Ministry to get his Apparition license.'

'Don't think I will forget this argument Harry, the second you are back at Ron's house, we will have a _little chat_ young man!' Remus warned.

Harry rolled his eyes, and turned to Tonks, still surprised about the trip to the Ministry of Magic. 'Are we going now?'

'Yup,' answered Tonks. 'I'll have to Side-Along Apparate you.'

'Okay,' Harry replied. He waved goodbye at the rest and grabbed Tonks' hand. 'When you are ready Harry, one, two and three!'

Harry felt the usual, horrible sensation of being forced through a very tight rubber tube and the next thing he saw was the Ministry's Atrium full of people and reporters. Tonks was horrified, but it was too late, the reporters swarmed to where Harry was standing and bombarded him with questions.

Tonks pushed past the reporters and opened a path for Harry to reach to the security guard, who asked them for their wands, measured them and scanned them.

'Eleven inches, phoenix feather core, been in use six years. Correct Mr. Potter?'

'Yeah'

'Thirteen inches, unicorn hair core, more than ten years in use. Correct Auror Tonks?

'Yes, yes. Now hurry up Eric, please.'

As the reporters, led by Rita Skeeter, tried to force entry to the Ministry, the old guard gave them their wands and called for some Aurors to control the reporters. Tonks and Harry rushed to the elevator and only inside they could rest. The doors of the lift shut with a loud BANG and the lift started to go up slowly. They had to go to Level Six, the Department of Magical Transportation. Incredibly, Hary and Tonks were alone in the lift, so Tonks seized her chance.

'Why was Remus angry?' she asked innocently. 'He is so used to pranks, who knows what have you done to enrage him to that point?'

Harry couldn't stiffle a chuckle and replied, 'There was no prank, Ron slipped out that we will not be returning to Hogwarts, and Remus didn't like that.' Harry lowered his head. 'I want to continue school, but I can't, not with Voldemort at large.'

Tonks gave him a sympathetic smile and told him. 'I know these are difficult times, Dumbledore's murder and Snape's treachery proves it, but you should live on, quitting school wont change anythi-'

'I will not discuss this here Tonks, too unsafe, people could be eavesdropping...'

'Right you are kiddo! Besides, this is our stop.' The lift had stopped in Level Six and Harry and Tonks stepped off.

The entrance of the Department of Magical Transportation was simple. Walls were painted in dark green and in the centre of the room, there was a small counter. Three corridors led to this room. One was labelled as "Apparition Point", the other as "Entrance" and the last wasn't labelled. They went to the counter and a girl received them.

'Hello,' she said in a monotonous voice. 'How can I help you?'

'Hi, my name is Harry Potter and I have to take my Apparition License.'

The girl was wide eyed and stammered. 'T-the Harry P-potter? Could I have your auto-'

'Come on girl, get a grip!' Tonks scolded her. 'We haven't got the whole day.'

'Please forgive me,' she seemed frightened. 'You should go through the Entrance corridor. Go inside the third door on your left. Have a good day.'

Harry and Tonks walked through the assigned corridor and entered in a door labelled "Apparition Test Centre". The room behind the door was medium sized. It was an empty sitting room with a counter. Next to the counter, there was a wooden door. Harry headed to the counter and, to his surprise, saw that the receptionist was Alicia Spinnet.

'Hi there Harry!'

'Alicia!' he greeted her warmly. 'How are you?'

'I'm very well luckily, how are you?'

'I've seen better days.'

'You will have to wait till the current exam is over, your examinator will be Wilkie Twycross, the same who taught you at Hogwarts.'

'Okay...'

'How is the Quidditch team faring without the best Chasers in Gryffindor's history?' Alicia joked.

'I dunno, Sirius Black was Chaser a long time ago, he played with my father!'

Alicia punched him jokingly in his arm. 'You can't deny that Katie, Angelina and me made a great trio.'

'Sure thing, but we have found suitable replacements. Ginny Weasley, Demelza Robins and Katie are good also, but now Katie finished school.'

'I know, you will be great this year, you still have the best Seeker Gryffindor had since James Potter.' Harry blushed. 'By the way, are you the Captain?'

'Since last year.'

'Congratulations!' a flying memo landed in Alicia's desk. 'I guess the other boy already finished. Good luck!'

The door opened and Neville Longbottom emerged. He looked slightly nervous but he smiled at Harry. 'Good luck' he told him.

Harry headed towards the door and both Tonks and Alicia gave him thumbs up. Alicia also gave him a big smile, and Harry couldn't avoid blushing a bit.

Wilkie Twycross was waiting in the other side. The room was dimly lit, but it was spacious. The same old fashioned, wooden rings they had used to practice at Hogwarts were scattered around the floor.

'Hello Mr Potter, as you surely must remember, my name is Wilkie Twycross and I will evaluate you. The exam is not complicated. It will be divided in three parts. Part one will consist of Apparating inside each ring in order. Points will be deducted if you have one foot outside the ring or if you step over the ring's borders. In part two, I will show you photos of three rooms, you will have to Apparate to each one and come back. Part three is optional, it is about Side – Along Apparition. There is no license required to do this, but I could give you some tips to avoid future splinching of either yourself or your companion.'

Harry was a bit nervous, but he knew he shouldn't have any problem. In his last adventure with Dumbledore he already had done Long distance Apparition and Side – Along Apparition. This should be a piece of cake.

'When you are ready Mr Potter,' the instructor said. 'we shall start.' With a wave of his wand, a numbers from one to ten appeared over certain rings. 'Please Apparate in each ring. In numerical order.' He added as if Harry hadn't understand.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, mumbled '_okay'_ and observed the first ring. He was _determined_ to get to his _destination_, which he imagined as if he was standing there. Now he had to move with _deliberation_. _'I really want to get there'_ Harry thought. He combined this three thoughts and, with really loud CRACK, he Apparated inside the first ring.

'Well done Mr Potter,' the old man praised. 'Continue please.'

Harry Apparated in the ten rings in quick succession, landing perfectly in all the rings. 'Excellent Mr Potter. Now we will proceed to the second part of the examination.' Twycross handed him three photos, each one was numbered. 'I want you to Apparate in the first house, after I Apparate inside.' Harry nodded and the instructor vanished with a swirl of his robes.

Harry looked at the first photograph. It was a nice, cozy, wooden cottage. A little forest with lush vegetation emerged behind the house. A small dog house was in the front. He concentrated on his _destination_, in front of the cottage, next to the dog house. He was _determined_ to get there and impress Twycross and _deliberately_ wanted to get there, he didn't want sheer luck to help him. The next thing Harry saw, was Wilkie Twycross seating in the entrance of the house.

'Well done lad! Now off we go to the second house,' He vanished again.

Harry looked at the second photograph and saw that it was Honeydukes. He smiled and realised that he didn't have to concentrate much to get there easily. He Apparated in the doorway of the famous shop, but was disappointed to see that Hogsmeade was empty with the exception of a smiling Mr. Twycross.

'Great performance, now we will go the third destination.' And he Disapparated.

Harry looked at the third photo. This time he had to Apparate inside the house, in a room which looked familiar to Harry. Harry concentrated on his _destination, deliberation and determination_ and Apparated next to the instructor.

'Very good, now we go back to the examination room in the Ministry if you please.'

They both Apparated back. Harry was too curious. 'Um, sir?'

'Yes Mr. Potter?'

'Where did we go in the last Apparition?'

'It is a room of the Leaky Cauldron. Why do you ask?'

'It seemed familiar.'

'Okay. Now we must do the last part of the evaluation, if you wish.'

'It wont be necessary Mr. Twycross. But I have one question sir. How do you Apparate silently?'

'Oh! Good question!' Twycross seemed delighted that somebody tried to better their Apparition. 'That is an ability that you will be able to control with time. You need experience, in fact it is very similar to casting non-verbal spells. First you need to master Apparition, and then you will need to use extra concentration to avoid the loud cracking noise. Is it clear?'

'Yes sir. Thank you very much!'

'Don't mention it. Miss Spinnet, the receptionist, will give you your Apparition License. Good Luck!'

'Goodbye sir.'

Harry turned round and opened the door. Tonks was waiting for him and smiled when she saw him.

'How did it go?'

'Excellent! I didn't fail even once!' Harry was beaming. Alicia Spinnet walked to where he was standing.

'Here you go Harry, your Apparition License! Well done!'

'Thanks.'

'Twycross was ecstatic, said you got full marks!' Harry smiled proudly. 'It was so nice to see you, we should meet more frequently don't you think?' Alicia was a few inches away now, and Tonks tried, but failed miserably, to stiffle a giggle, in spite of this, Alicia didn't stop. Harry was blushing furiously now, and managed to take a step back.

'It was really nice to see you too, we could get together more fre - frequently,' Harry stammered while saying the last word, seeing how Alicia was cornering him. He couldn't help but notice that Cho had cornered him similarly on that mistletoe. However, the situation was very diferent now. He liked Ginny, but had to restrain himself, and it wasn't worth to hurt Alicia as he had hurt Ginny. He was determined not to lead somebody to danger so he told her. 'Er, I've got to go Alicia, we could meet another time I'll owl you.'

'Oooh, what a pity! I'll see you at Bill Weasley's wedding!' She covered the few inches that separated them with a step, hugged him and gave him a big kiss that would have landed on Harry's lips if he hadn't moved his head just in time. Tonks was laughing uncontrollably now. Harry couldn't have blushed redder than he already was.

Harry walked through the corridor that was labelled as "Exit" and Tonks followed him, still giggling. Harry didn't want to think at the twins' reaction when Tonks would tell everyone what had happened.

'I think Harry has got a new admirer!' Tonks teased him.

'Oh shut it,' Harry blushed again. 'It's not my fault.'

'Oh yes it is,' she looked as if Christmas had come early. 'It is your fault that you turned out to be so cute!' Harry blushed even more, but Tonks was too tempted so as to let this chance pass, she morphed and turned into an exact copy of Alicia Spinnet '_Oh Harry it was sooo nice to see you again!'_ She turned back into herself and giggled maniacally.

Harry was glad that she finally had stopped her teasing, but he couldn't believe how could a day turned out to be such a bad one. He still had to talk with Remus and face a furious Mrs Weasley, and then a big teasing from the twins and Ron would come. In spite of all of this, he still wanted to return to The Burrow as soon as possible. Tonks, Harry and two other men entered in the lift and went down to the Atrium. A big mocking smile was plastered in Tonks' face, so Harry decided to face the elevator's wall.

They finally got off at the Atrium, and as they walked to the Apparition point and Harry was bracing himself for a big argument with Remus, the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, and his Junior Assistant, Percy Weasley, appeared. The Minister limped till he was in front of Harry

'Harry Potter!What a surprise to meet you here!'

'Hello Minister.' Harry greeted him wearily. He pointedly ignored Percy.

'Auror Tonks,' the Minister continued. 'How are you?'

'Pretty well sir, thanks for asking.'

'Harry have you thought about my last offer?'

'I am still Dumbledore's man Scrimgeour.'

'Potter you should be more respect-' Percy tried to say.

'SHUT UP WEASLEY!' both Harry and Scrimgeour exclaimed. Percy blushed and lowered his head.

'Come on Potter, I am only asking you for support, to raise everyone's morale.'

'How could you talk about raising morale, you are raising Voldemort's morale by apprehending wrong people!'

'You – don't – un – der – stand!' the Minister couldn't hide his anger.

'I know that I am supposed to tell the truth, I will not be you poster boy, at least not when you are misleading the people.'

'Harry Potter, you are not gaining anything by standing up for something a dead man said! Look how he ended up! Only because he _believed in second chances_. He may have been a powerful wizard, but he was also a fool. Everyone knew Sna-'

'DON'T YOU DARE TALK BAD ABOUT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE YOU COWARD!' Harry bellowed. 'YOU ARE FRIGHTENED OF WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK IF YOU CAN'T GET DEATH EATERS AND YOUR BEST SOLUTION IS CATCHING INNOCENT PEOPLE? EITHER SOONER OR LATER YOU WILL FALL, AND PEOPLE WILL KNOW ABOUT YOUR DOINGS!'

'You will never shout at me as you had already done, you arrogant boy!'

'I will do as I please.' Harry said coldly.

'Oh, _honestly_,' the Minister scoffed. 'You are just seventeen years old, you can't do anything.'

'At Dumbledore's funeral I was sixteen, and yet you wanted to bribe me with an Auror position to be your poster boy. I'm fed up with you, goodbye.'

Harry pushed past Scrimgeour and Percy and headed towards the Apparition Point. As Tonks followed Harry, reporters flooded the Atrium and bombarded the Minister with questions. Harry Potter couldn't help but smirk seeing in how much trouble was the Minister now.

Tonks whispered him. 'You are really Dumbledore's man through and through aren't you?' Fawkes appeared and landed on Harry's shoulder, answering her question.


End file.
